Telementoring and Telesurgery for Minimally Invasive Procedures.

Area of Science:

• Robotics and Telemedicine in Surgery
• Minimally Invasive Surgical Procedures
• Surgical Education Technologies

Background:

• Growing interest in combining telemedicine and minimally invasive surgery.
• Robotics offers unique advantages for remote surgical guidance and execution.
• Focus on urological applications within this domain.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the current state of telemedicine in minimally invasive surgery.
• To identify challenges and future potential of these technologies.
• To specifically examine urological applications.

Main Methods:

• Systematic literature search of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science (1995-2016).
• Inclusion of English language, full-text articles using keywords: telemedicine, minimally invasive surgery, robotic surgery, education, distance.
• Categorization of studies based on the level of interaction between proctors and trainees.

Main Results:

• 38 out of 65 identified reports were included in the review.
• Four levels of telementoring were identified: verbal guidance, telestration, tele-assist, and telesurgery.
• Higher levels of telementoring improve surgical teaching but increase bandwidth needs and costs; patient safety and ethical issues persist.

Conclusions:

• Telementoring and telesurgery are increasingly practical and cost-effective for surgical skills training and remote care.
• Challenges include financial, legal, ethical, and patient safety concerns.
• Future development requires financial incentives, supportive legislation, and cybersecurity collaboration.